The man who invented the idea for the "standing cabin," says it could revolutionize air travel.
"I stumbled across the idea when I was looking into ways to reduce the flight ticket price," Fairuz Romli told CNN.
Romli figures the configuration would lead to a 21% increase in passenger capacity and force ticket prices down nearly 50% in a plane like the widely used Boeing 737.
"I'm a frequent flier and most of the times during domestic flights. It feels like the flying time is very short that the aircraft is already descending for landing before you can unfasten your seatbelt after takeoff," he commented.
Romli went on to ask, “do we really need to sit down?"
It turns out his idea wasn’t new. Ryanair, Airbus, and Spring Airlines have all looked into the concept.
When Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary and his company looked at the idea in 2012, he said, “the problem with aviation is that for 50 years it's been populated by people who think it's a wondrous sexual experience when it's really just a bus with wings."
Even so, all three companies decided the idea wouldn’t “fly.”
"We don't believe there are good market opportunities for this idea," said Mark Hiller of Recaro Aircraft Seating, one of the biggest suppliers of airline seats. Romli published his findings in the International Journal of Engineering and Technology.
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